Top 20 Stories of 2018: No. 15 FL JUCO Soph. All-Star Weekend - Mid-Florida Conference

December 12, 2018
Phil Kerber
PBR Florida/JUCO Wire

Over the next few weeks we we will be counting down the 2018 caldendar year with a look at the top 20 viewed stories of 2018. After combing through our google analytics, we have compiled a list of the twenty most visited stories, by you, the readers, in 2018.

We continue our countdown with the 15th most viewed story of 2018, from Florida JUCO Sophomore All-Star Weekend, the Mid-Florida Conference Scout Blog

This past weekend the annual FCSAA Sophomore All-Star Game and Showcase occurred in Lakeland, FL at Joker Marchant Stadium. This event is for sophomores only, many of which are still uncommitted. The Southern Conference and Panhandle Conference played each other and participated in a showcase on Saturday, October 27. The following day, Sunday, October 28, The Mid Florida Conference and Suncoast Conference did the same.

This week we began by taking a look at the standout Sophomore performers from the All-Star weekend with the Southern Conference, followed by the Panhandle Conference.

Today, we take a look at Mid-Florida Conference. Once again, it is easiest to start with the physical pitchers from the Mid-Florida Conference. College of Central Florida's Jemil VanHeyhingen stands out at 6-foot-6, 245-pounds, then there are Santa Fe's Donovan Benoit and Connor Churchill, both standing 6-foot-4 with broad shoulders. Arguably the best amongst the group is Seminole State's Haden Erbe, who possesses a strong 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame. It is safe to say this quartet use their frame's to their advantage as they all sat in the 90s with their fastball.

At the plate, two of the best offensive days of the weekend belong to Mid-Florida Conference prospects. Santa Fe's Jarrod Cande was on a tear during batting practice. He took that same approach right over into gameplay when he launched a two run home run to go along with a single. Daytona State's Jack Nagy kept things more simple, peppering the field with line drives and then doing the same in-game with two singles and two runs batted in.

Keep reading below to see reports and videos on the aforementioned prospects and more.

College of Central Florida

Ricky Presno, 3B, College of Central Florida (SO)
6-foot, 186-pound left-handed hitting third baseman, strong, athletic frame. Hands work athletically through the zone, takes a line drive approach at the plate, barrel control type hitter.

Codie Lunday, LHP, College of Central Florida (SO)
6-foot-1, 204-pound left-handed pitcher, strong, durable build. Arm works from a ¾ slot, with a low draw on the back-side. Drop and drive delivery, upper body remains upright throughout, finishing upright. Ran his fastball up to 91, sitting 89-91. Curveball, sweeping action, 74-75. Faced four batters in one inning, allowed one hit while striking out one.

Brandon Knarr, LHP, College of Central Florida (SO)
5-foot-10, 202-pound left-handed pitcher, strong, athletic frame. Threw during the bullpen sessions. Works with quick, smooth tempo, arm accelerates quickly out of a high ¾ slot. Fastball worked up to 91 mph. Curveball, sharp action at-times, 78 mph. Changeup at 77.

Jamil VanHeyhingen, RHP, College of Central Florida (SO)
6-foot-6, 245-pound right-handed pitcher, XL physical frame. Threw in bullpen session. Works from a low ¾ slot with a short arm action. Fastball sat 92-95. Slider, sweeping action, depth at-times, 75.

David Mata, RHP, College of Central Florida (SO)
6-foot-1, 205-pound right-handed pitcher, strong, durable frame. Threw during the bullpen sessions. Fastball sat 91-93. Slider at 76-77. Changeup, 78 mph.

Florida State College at Jacksonville

Chad Ragland, OF/LHP, FSCJ (SO)
5-foot-9, 155-pound two-way prospect, proportional, athletic build. An above-average defender in the outfielder, covers ground well and tracks the ball. At the plate continued to display a leadoff approach, fights pitches off, has a feel for the zone, barrel control type hitter, Drew one walk and had one hit in three plate appearances. On the mound, sat 83-84. Curveball, feel for, 12/6 shape, 68-71. Changeup at 78-80. Allowed one hit to four batters, striking out one and getting two groundouts.

Trey Spratling-Williams, 1B, FSCJ (SO)
A physical 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, the left-handed hitting first baseman ha your prototypical first base only, power hitting frame. There is some length, but there is bat speed and strength and shows above average pull side power. Chance for real power that plays in game. Had a hard hit single and RBI in game.

Quinton Brehm, RHP, FSCJ (SO)
6-foot-2, 185-pound right-handed pitcher, lanky frame, wide shoulders. Seen two days prior against St. John’s River, pitched with similar stuff. Ran fastball up to 91, sitting 89-91.

Tyler Naumann, LHP, FSCJ (SO)
6-foot, 175-pound left-handed pitcher, proportional, athletic build. Long arm action, shows on back-side, pie-ish, high ¾ slot. Quick, uptempo, rhythm, repeats delivery. Fastball sat 87-89 with a slider at 80-81. Worked a clean inning with two flyouts and one strikeout

St. John’s River State

Ray Gonzalez, OF, St. John’s River (SO)
5-foot-8, 175-pound right-handed outfielder, quick-twitch athlete. Barrel control type hitter who puts the ball in play and looks to use speed to put pressure on the defense. Ran a 3.75 down the line on a bunt. Speed translates defensively, covers ground quickly.

Riley Wash, C, St. John’s River (SO)
Wash looks to have added 15-20 pounds of muscle to his lean, athletic and projectable frame. Really stands out defensively, where he has present flexibility in his setup, with lateral agility and the hands work well, getting to pitches on time and showing above average receiving skill. Flashes a plus arm at times and pop times in the 1.9 range. Overall, he has the making of a well above average defender. Offensively, the strength continues to play well. Wide base, simple swing and shows present gap-to-gap power.

Cameron Sereda, LHP, St. John’s River (SO)
5-foot-10, 150-pound left-handed pitcher, athletically-built, lean muscle. Athletic tall and fall delivery, repeats well for consistent strikes. Fastball sat 87-88 with armside run. Curveball, 1/7 shape, feel for, 77-78. Pitched a clean inning with two infield pop outs and a strikeout.

Francis Villaman, INF, St. John’s River (SO)
6-foot, 190-pound right-handed hitting infielder, strong, athletic frame. Worked out in the showcase portion. Offensively takes a power approach to the pull-side, swing works mostly level, gains extension and some lift at-times, easy effort, drove the ball during batting practice.

Lake Sumter

Alan Alonso, OF, Lake Sumter (SO)
A lean, 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, he looks the part. Physical and athletic, moves well defensively. Stood out offensively in the game, where he is aggressive through the zone, stays tall, trusts his hands and has present bat speed. Translated to a single in the game and has a chance for above average power.

Robbie Scott, 2B, Lake Sumter (SO)
5-foot-10, 155 pounds he is a grinder, spark plug type player. Solid defender, with a quick first step and good hands. Offensively, he has present bat to ball skills with a compact and level swing.

Seminole State

Kenny Rodriguez, OF, Seminole State (SO)
Arkansas Little-Rock recruit, he has a stocky 6-foot, 200 pound frame with strength throughout. Some sneaky athleticism, but stands out offensively. Wide, strong base that he uses to generates a strength and bat speed.

Louis Davenport, RHP, Seminole State (SO)
6-foot, 160-pound athletically-built, lanky right-handed pitcher. Worked out during the bullpen sessions. Loose, easy arm action from a high ¾ slot. Smooth rhythm throughout delivery. Fastball sat 88-89. Slider worked ar 76-80 mph, tight sweeping action. Changeup, some fade, 84-85.

Edward Surinach, SS/RHP, Seminole State (SO)
6-foot-1, 180-pound two-way prospect, athletic proportional build, muscular frame On the mound, fastball worked up to 88 mph, curveball at 70-72, and changeup 79 mph. Showed some feel and a presence. Offensively takes a gap-to-gap approach at the plate, can drive the ball.

Jakob Barker, RHP, Seminole State (r-FR)
6-foot-1, 220-pound right-handed pitcher. Worked out during the bullpen sessions. Fastball worked at 89-90 mph. Breaking ball at 72 mph and changeup at 81.

Marvin Guzman, RHP, Seminole State (SO)
A thick 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, he worked slightly crossfire with some effort from a low ¾ slot. The fastball ranged from 90-92 mph with some heaviness and the slider worked at 72 mph.

Jake Zarrello, C/1B, Seminole State (r-SO)
Stephen F. Austin commit. 6-foot, 205-pound left-handed hitting catcher and first baseman, strong upper half. Gap-to-gap type hitter, pull-side power, more line drives to the opposite field.

Haden Erbe, RHP, Seminole State (r-SO)
6-foot-3, 220-pound right-handed pitcher, strong, durable frame, athleticism throughout. Worked out in the bullpen sessions. One of the big winners from the JUCO Twin Classic, continued to perform well. Works downhill with fastball, 92-93. Feel for curveball at 74-75, depth, makings of a swing and miss type pitch. Changeup at 85 mph. Follow MLB Draft prospect.

Daytona State

Justin Rodriguez, OF, Daytona State (SO)
6-foot-3, 205-pound right-handed hitting outfielder, athletic frame, strength throughout. Takes a power approach to the pull-side at the plate, natural lift in swing, strong hands/wrists at contact.

Jack Nagy, 3B, Daytona State (SO)
The 5-foot-10, 194 pound third baseman is barrell chested an fuill of strength and energy. Jumps off of the field with how he plays, and the energy he plays with. Solid defender. Offensively, the strength plays, has shorter arms and stays compact through the zone with bat to ball skills and gap-to-gap power. Swing played in game with a pair of singles and two RBIs.

Keiji Parkhurst, C/1B, Daytona State (SO)
6-foot-1, 212-pound right-handed hitting catcher, strong, durable build, wide shoulders. Simple, compact swing, little pre-pitch movement, hands load back, leg kick timing trigger, maintains good balance. Barrel path works with natural loft through the zone, gap-to-gap type hitter.

Trent Taylor, INF/OF, Daytona State (r-SO)
6-foot, 180-pound right-handed hitting utility player, athletically-built, moves with smooth actions. Swings with intent, creates good separation from body on load, leg kick timing trigger, maintains balance, incorporates lower half. Gap-to-gap type hitter with some developing pull-side power.

Santa Fe

Donovan Benoit, RHP, Santa Fe (SO)
6-foot-4, 195-pound right-handed pitcher, projectable, athletic frame. In second look in a month, looked even more impressive with crisper stuff. Fastball worked 91-93, up from last report when he was 88-91. More aggressive with curveball, 77-80. Changeup at 85 mph. Stock rising at the conclusion of Fall, a follow prospect for Spring season.

Jarrod Cande, OF, Santa Fe (SO)
Absolutely passes the eye test. An extremely physical 6-foot-2, 195 pounds. Above average all around athlete. Stood out in BP and the bat speed and strength really translated to the game. The swing is simple, compact, but slightly uphill and has above average pull side power. He had a single and a home run to left. He has shown some intriguing potential on the mound in the past as well, up to 90 mph earlier this fall, but the bat is going to play, with above average hit and power, so anything on the mound is a big bonus.

Connor Churchill, RHP, Santa Fe (SO)
6-foot-4, 210-pound right-handed pitcher, physical projectable frame, room for additional physicality. Fastball worked up to 91 mph. Hard curveball at 80 mph. Changeup, armside run, 82-84 mph.